Effectively Wild Episode 2506: All-Star Showers Bring Second-Half Flowers

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, please visit our Patreon. With Ben Lindbergh serving jury duty, Meg Rowley is joined by Baseball Prospectus editor-in-chief Craig Goldstein. The pair discuss the perils of hotel pillows and showers, then turn their attention to the 2026 All-Star Game, how the in-person experience compares to the TV one, and the challenges of making it a fun event relative to the Home Run Derby. Then Craig offers his thoughts on the CBA negotiations and Rob Manfred&#8217;s approach to communicating (38:58), before he and Meg discuss a few of the things they are looking forward to (and one thing they&#8217;re dreading) about the season&#8217;s second half, including the White Sox, good teams playing well, a potentially weird deadline, and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Audio&nbsp;intro: El Warren, &#8220;Effectively Wild Theme&#8221; Audio&nbsp;outro: Josh Busman, &#8220;Effectively Wild Theme&#8221; Link to the Five and Dive episode where Craig discusses the Rays Link to Craig on the weird deadline ahead Link to Steven Goldman on the All-Star Game Link to Jake Mintz on the All-Star Game Sandlot tribute Link to Jayson Stark on the AL&#8217;s All-Star pitching dominance Link to Andy McCullough on the All-Star Game Link to Michael Baumann on Philly as the haters&#8217; All-Star Game Link to Katie Woo on Jordan Walker Link to Ben Clemens on Dillion Dingler Link to Davy Andrews on Pete Crow-Armstrong Link to Ryan Blake on Lance McCullers Jr. Trade Link to Dan Szymborski on an AL team with a losing record making the postseason &nbsp;Sponsor Us&nbsp;on&nbsp;Patreon &nbsp;Give a Gift Subscription &nbsp;Email Us:&nbsp;podcast@fangraphs.com <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/effectivelywild/" target="_blank" rel="noopener